Wilko D. Altrock

The Presynaptic Active Zone Protein Bassoon Is Essential for Photoreceptor Ribbon Synapse Formation in the Retina

The photoreceptor ribbon synapse is a highly specialized glutamatergic synapse designed for the continuous flow of synaptic vesicles to the neurotransmitter release site. The molecular mechanisms underlying ribbon synapse formation are poorly understood. We have investigated the role of the presynaptic cytomatrix protein Bassoon, a major component of the photoreceptor ribbon, in a mouse retina deficient of functional Bassoon protein. Photoreceptor ribbons lacking Bassoon are not anchored to the presynaptic active zones. This results in an impaired photoreceptor synaptic transmission, an abnormal dendritic branching of neurons postsynaptic to photoreceptors, and the formation of ectopic synapses. These findings suggest a critical role of Bassoon in the formation and the function of photoreceptor ribbon synapses of the mammalian retina.

Functional inactivation of a fraction of excitatory synapses in mice deficient for the active zone protein bassoon.

Mutant mice lacking the central region of the presynaptic active zone protein Bassoon were generated to establish the role of this protein in the assembly and function of active zones as sites of synaptic vesicle docking and fusion. Our data show that the loss of Bassoon causes a reduction in normal synaptic transmission, which can be attributed to the inactivation of a significant fraction of glutamatergic synapses. At these synapses, vesicles are clustered and docked in normal numbers but are unable to fuse. Phenotypically, the loss of Bassoon causes spontaneous epileptic seizures. These data show that Bassoon is not essential for synapse formation but plays an essential role in the regulated neurotransmitter release from a subset of glutamatergic synapses.

Localization of the presynaptic cytomatrix protein Piccolo at ribbon and conventional synapses in the rat retina: comparison with Bassoon.

In recent years significant progress has been made in the elucidation of the molecular assembly of the postsynaptic density at synapses, whereas little is known as yet about the components of the presynaptic active zone. Piccolo and Bassoon, two structurally related presynaptic cytomatrix proteins, are highly concentrated at the active zones of both excitatory and inhibitory synapses in rat brain. In this study we used immunocytochemistry to examine the cellular and ultrastructural localization of Piccolo at synapses in the rat retina and compared it with that of Bassoon. Both proteins showed strong punctate immunofluorescence in the outer and the inner plexiform layers of the retina. They were found presynaptically at glutamatergic ribbon synapses and at conventional GABAergic and glycinergic synapses. Although the two proteins were coexpressed at all photoreceptor ribbon synapses and at some conventional amacrine cell synapses, at bipolar cell ribbon synapses only Piccolo was present. Our data demonstrate similarities but also differences in the molecular composition of the presynaptic apparatuses of the synapses in the retina, differences that may account for the functional differences observed between the ribbon and the conventional amacrine cell synapses and between the photoreceptor and the bipolar cell ribbon synapses in the retina. J. Comp. Neurol. 439:224–234, 2001.

Functional regions of the presynaptic cytomatrix protein bassoon: significance for synaptic targeting and cytomatrix anchoring

Exocytosis of neurotransmitter from synaptic vesicles is restricted to specialized sites of the presynaptic plasma membrane called active zones. A complex cytomatrix of proteins exclusively assembled at active zones, the CAZ, is thought to form a molecular scaffold that organizes neurotransmitter release sites. Here, we have analyzed synaptic targeting and cytomatrix association of Bassoon, a major scaffolding protein of the CAZ. By combining immunocytochemistry and transfection of cultured hippocampal neurons, we show that the central portion of Bassoon is crucially involved in synaptic targeting and CAZ association. An N-terminal region harbors a distinct capacity for N-myristoylation-dependent targeting to synaptic vesicle clusters, but is not incorporated into the CAZ. Our data provide the first experimental evidence for the existence of distinct functional regions in Bassoon and suggest that a centrally located CAZ targeting function may be complemented by an N-terminal capacity for targeting to membrane-bounded synaptic organelles.

Bassoon and Piccolo maintain synapse integrity by regulating protein ubiquitination and degradation.

The presynaptic active zone (AZ) is a specialized microdomain designed for the efficient and repetitive release of neurotransmitter. Bassoon and Piccolo are two high molecular weight components of the AZ, with hypothesized roles in its assembly and structural maintenance. However, glutamatergic synapses lacking either protein exhibit relatively minor defects, presumably due to their significant functional redundancy. In the present study, we have used interference RNAs to eliminate both proteins from glutamatergic synapses, and find that they are essential for maintaining synaptic integrity. Loss of Bassoon and Piccolo leads to the aberrant degradation of multiple presynaptic proteins, culminating in synapse degeneration. This phenotype is mediated in part by the E3 ubiquitin ligase Siah1, an interacting partner of Bassoon and Piccolo whose activity is negatively regulated by their conserved zinc finger domains. Our findings demonstrate a novel role for Bassoon and Piccolo as critical regulators of presynaptic ubiquitination and proteostasis.

Targeted three-dimensional immunohistochemistry reveals localization of presynaptic proteins Bassoon and Piccolo in the rat calyx of Held before and after the onset of hearing

Bassoon and Piccolo contribute to the cytomatrix of active zones (AZ), the sites of neurotransmitter release in nerve terminals. Here, we examined the 3D localization of Bassoon and Piccolo in the rat calyx of Held between postnatal days 9 and 21, the period of hearing onset characterized by pronounced structural and functional changes. Bassoon and Piccolo were identified by immunohistochemistry (IHC) on slices of the brainstem harboring calyces labeled with membrane‐anchored green fluorescent protein (mGFP). By using confocal microscopy and 3D reconstructions, we examined the distribution of Bassoon and Piccolo in calyces delineated by mGFP. This allowed us to discriminate calyceal IHC signals from noncalyceal signals located in the spaces between the calyceal stalks, which could mimic a calyx‐like distribution. We found that both proteins were arranged in clusters resembling the size of AZs. These clusters were located along the presynaptic membrane facing the principal cell, close to or overlapping with synaptic vesicle (SV) clusters. Only about 60% of Bassoon and Piccolo clusters overlapped, whereas the remaining clusters contained predominantly Bassoon or Piccolo, suggesting differential targeting of these proteins within a single nerve terminal and potentially heterogeneous AZs functional properties. The total number of Bassoon and Piccolo clusters, which may approximate the number of AZs, was 405 ± 35 at P9 and 601 ± 45 at P21 (mean ± SEM, n = 12). Normalized to calyx volume at P9 and P21, the density of clusters was similar, suggesting that the absolute number of clusters, not density, may contribute to the functional maturation associated with hearing onset. J. Comp. Neurol. 518:1008–1029, 2010.

Formation of Golgi-Derived Active Zone Precursor Vesicles

Vesicular trafficking of presynaptic and postsynaptic components is emerging as a general cellular mechanism for the delivery of scaffold proteins, ion channels, and receptors to nascent and mature synapses. However, the molecular mechanisms leading to the selection of cargos and their differential transport to subneuronal compartments are not well understood, in part because of the mixing of cargos at the plasma membrane and/or within endosomal compartments. In the present study, we have explored the cellular mechanisms of active zone precursor vesicle assembly at the Golgi in dissociated hippocampal neurons of Rattus norvegicus. Our studies show that Piccolo, Bassoon, and ELKS2/CAST exit the trans-Golgi network on a common vesicle that requires Piccolo and Bassoon for its proper assembly. In contrast, Munc13 and synaptic vesicle proteins use distinct sets of Golgi-derived transport vesicles, while RIM1α associates with vesicular membranes in a post-Golgi compartment. Furthermore, Piccolo and Bassoon are necessary for ELKS2/CAST to leave the Golgi in association with vesicles, and a core domain of Bassoon is sufficient to facilitate formation of these vesicles. While these findings support emerging principles regarding active zone differentiation, the cellular and molecular analyses reported here also indicate that the Piccolo-Bassoon transport vesicles leaving the Golgi may undergo further changes in protein composition before arriving at synaptic sites.

Epilepsy-induced abnormal striatal plasticity in Bassoon mutant mice

Recently, the striatum has been implicated in the spread of epileptic seizures. As the absence of functional scaffolding protein Bassoon in mutant mice is associated with the development of pronounced spontaneous seizures, we utilized this new genetic model of epilepsy to investigate seizure‐induced changes in striatal synaptic plasticity. Mutant mice showed reduced long‐term potentiation in striatal spiny neurons, associated with an altered N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate (NMDA) receptor subunit distribution, whereas GABAergic fast‐spiking (FS) interneurons showed NMDA‐dependent short‐term potentiation that was absent in wild‐type animals. Alterations in the dendritic morphology of spiny neurons and in the number of FS interneurons were also observed. Early antiepileptic treatment with valproic acid reduced epileptic attacks and mortality, rescuing physiological striatal synaptic plasticity and NMDA receptor subunit composition. However, morphological alterations were not affected by antiepileptic treatment. Our results indicate that, in Bsn mutant mice, initial morphological alterations seem to reflect a more direct effect of the abnormal genotype, whereas plasticity changes are likely to be caused by the occurrence of repeated cortical seizures.

Differential spatial expression and subcellular localization of CtBP family members in rodent brain.

C-terminal binding proteins (CtBPs) are well-characterized nuclear transcriptional co-regulators. In addition, cytoplasmic functions were discovered for these ubiquitously expressed proteins. These include the involvement of the isoform CtBP1-S/BARS50 in cellular membrane-trafficking processes and a role of the isoform RIBEYE as molecular scaffolds in ribbons, the presynaptic specializations of sensory synapses. CtBPs were suggested to regulate neuronal differentiation and they were implied in the control of gene expression during epileptogenesis. However, the expression patterns of CtBP family members in specific brain areas and their subcellular localizations in neurons in situ are largely unknown. Here, we performed comprehensive assessment of the expression of CtBP1 and CtBP2 in mouse brain at the microscopic and the ultra-structural levels using specific antibodies. We quantified and compared expression levels of both CtBPs in biochemically isolated brain fractions containing cellular nuclei or synaptic compartment. Our study demonstrates differential regional and subcellular expression patterns for the two CtBP family members in brain and reveals a previously unknown synaptic localization for CtBP2 in particular brain regions. Finally, we propose a mechanism of differential synapto-nuclear targeting of its splice variants CtBP2-S and CtBP2-L in neurons.

Regulation of Presynaptic Anchoring of the Scaffold Protein Bassoon by Phosphorylation-Dependent Interaction with 14-3-3 Adaptor Proteins

The proper organization of the presynaptic cytomatrix at the active zone is essential for reliable neurotransmitter release from neurons. Despite of the virtual stability of this tightly interconnected proteinaceous network it becomes increasingly clear that regulated dynamic changes of its composition play an important role in the processes of synaptic plasticity. Bassoon, a core component of the presynaptic cytomatrix, is a key player in structural organization and functional regulation of presynaptic release sites. It is one of the most highly phosphorylated synaptic proteins. Nevertheless, to date our knowledge about functions mediated by any one of the identified phosphorylation sites of Bassoon is sparse. In this study, we have identified an interaction of Bassoon with the small adaptor protein 14-3-3, which depends on phosphorylation of the 14-3-3 binding motif of Bassoon. In vitro phosphorylation assays indicate that phosphorylation of the critical Ser-2845 residue of Bassoon can be mediated by a member of the 90-kDa ribosomal S6 protein kinase family. Elimination of Ser-2845 from the 14-3-3 binding motif results in a significant decrease of Bassoons molecular exchange rates at synapses of living rat neurons. We propose that the phosphorylation-induced 14-3-3 binding to Bassoon modulates its anchoring to the presynaptic cytomatrix. This regulation mechanism might participate in molecular and structural presynaptic remodeling during synaptic plasticity.